As a young transactional lawyer seeking to establish a private practice and a reputation as a “go-to” business and finance lawyer, I was advised by a senior partner at the firm to become an “indispensable” part of the client’s team of advisors. A trusted lawyer, according to the senior partner, was as essential to business clients as the client’s banker, accountant, and insurance agent. That advice resonated with me. I proceeded to develop a plan to become a trusted lawyer and an “indispensable” team member to my clients. Of course, first, I needed to develop a client base that had regular, recurring business and finance legal services needs and prove that I was an indispensable team member.
Many of the clients I sought to develop already had one or more other team members, such as an accountant or banker. Meeting young accountants and bankers would have the potential to open doors to clients since, ethically, I could not make “cold calls” on new clients. It also proved to be an easier pathway since many of them were also looking for opportunities to develop new clients. Through participation in civic organizations, nonprofit boards, and breakfast clubs, I was able to introduce myself to accountants, bankers, insurance agents, and other professionals, and I began to develop a reputation as a business and finance lawyer. When their clients had legal needs, these professionals would provide my name and contact information to them. I reciprocated. Through these networking opportunities, I was able to develop over time a business and finance clientele, with me as the trusted lawyer team member and my professional friends filling other roles.
Through regular contact with my clients, I demonstrated the value I brought to the team. Soon thereafter, clients came to view me as an “indispensable” part of the team. The longer I served the client, the more indispensable I became. Indispensability provided not only the professional and economic benefits of serving clients in private practice but also a feeling of personal and professional security. It also proved to be a hindrance to a balanced life, especially my family life.
My wife and I have been blessed with six children, who are separated by approximately thirteen years from the oldest to the youngest. As they grew, so did their activities. I wanted to be the dad who attended all their activities. Of course, that was an unrealistic expectation. I attended many, and nearly all, of the truly important ones, but not all. And even when I was there, many times, I was not truly present. My mind was worrying about how I would get the work done that my client needed so it would not be displeased and replace me with another attorney who would “be there” when needed.
I had a modicum of backup at the firm. However, the young attorneys did not know the client and had little experience performing the work. The more experienced attorneys were busy with their own “indispensability” drama with little time or inclination to help. Besides, compensation was dependent upon the fees I personally produced. There was no incentive for me to have others handle work that I could perform. As a result, in order to ensure I remained indispensable, I would burn the midnight oil and sacrifice sleep. Because my family history included a grandfather who died from a heart attack at age 48 and a father who died from heart disease at age 59, maintaining my heart health was critically important to me, even though my health history was much different than theirs. So, I would be up again at “o’ dark thirty” to work out and head back into the office to continue serving my clients.
For years, I pursued this “work-life” balancing and re-balancing method in order to remain indispensable to my clients. The stress from overwork, lack of sleep, “working out to stay healthy,” and the inability to truly get away from it all, even on vacations with my wife and kids, began to feel like a recipe for disaster. The internet, fax machines, cell phones, and email served to increase clients’ sometimes unrealistic demands for quick turnaround on projects and nearly immediate responses. Laptops and the ability to work at or from home gave some flexibility so that I could enjoy my family a bit more and use the early morning or late evening (and sometimes both) to complete clients’ projects and maintain my indispensable position as the trusted lawyer team member. For a while, I was pretty successful at it.
Then, one day, two of my largest and fastest-growing clients communicated the same message that I needed more support for their work if I were to continue as their lawyer. I also began to notice that something was missing. I felt empty inside. I began to ask the question, “Why am I not happier and more content?” (Yes, I was in mid-life when lawyers, as well as others, often re-examine what is really meaningful to them.) I also did not appreciate the level of stress being indispensable would create, both in my professional life and in my personal life. More and more research has demonstrated that chronic stress can affect emotional and physical health, as Cindy Lamothe writes in Healthline. Further, long-term exposure to chronic stress has been linked to burnout, anxiety, and depression. I knew something had to change.
At this critical point in my career, I decided I needed to find a better support and compensation system with another law firm. I found it at my current firm and made the change. As a result, I had experienced and competent young attorneys to take on tasks for clients when I was unavailable. Because compensation was a value-based proposition that encompassed more than fee production, the pressure to do everything for a client was relieved. Moreover, I had access to expertise in areas I commonly encountered with my clients but either had to learn or refer to attorneys with other firms to handle them. The pressure from my best clients to have more support evaporated. I was able to train less experienced lawyers at the firm without sacrificing compensation. And, I had more time to spend with and truly be present for my family and take vacations where I could disconnect from work and client demands. It has taken some time to let go of the “indispensable” security blanket, but I have found it worthwhile.
Liz Wiseman, CEO of The Wiseman Group and an author of leadership books and articles, researched how top workplace contributors think and behave and found that the drive to become indispensable to our work “…put[s] our long-term career growth at risk.” She discussed her findings in her article, published in the Harvard Business Review, entitled Should You Really Be ‘Indispensable’ at Work? Ms. Wiseman found that being indispensable limits not only the person’s potential for growth and development, but also causes the organization to suffer. For the indispensable person, the catch-22 is that he or she cannot move into new opportunities without having subordinates to handle the existing work. And yet, there is no time or inclination to develop those subordinates because the person views himself or herself as so critical to the existing work that no one else can perform it. According to Ms. Wiseman, the indispensable person tends to underutilize smart and capable team members, which creates a risk they will underperform, become apathetic and lower ambitions or perhaps leave the organization. When this happens, the indispensable person becomes a liability to the organization and his or her career may be jeopardized.
I can see now how the need to be indispensable created negative impacts on staff and other young lawyers at my prior firm. I justified handling the project myself because either it would take too long to have another person do it, or I would have to spend time “fixing” the other person’s work, so it was best for the client for me to do it in the first instance. That justification resulted in missed opportunities for others to grow and perhaps contributed to the turnover in assistants I experienced.
Liz Wiseman argues that the right balance between being indispensable and readily replaceable (or dispensable) is to become “valuable.” Valuable contributors are integral team members. They enhance team performance by eliminating friction points, maximizing the talent of the entire team, and deriving value from the work performed by the team and not just their work. By replicating themselves, valuable team leaders develop team members, enable progress on the work that must be done, stabilize their work-life balance, and enhance their value to the team and organization as a whole.
Trying to be indispensable left me no time to utilize other skills I had in leadership roles and strategic planning. At my current firm, I have chaired the Corporate department and led strategic planning for it. I have also served as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, which manages the firm. I was part of the Executive Committee team that led the strategic acquisition of our eastern Iowa team and office. I currently chair our Banking and Finance Practice Group. These are leadership roles I enjoy and have added value to the firm. I would never have had the time or been asked to serve in these roles had I retained the “indispensable” point of view.
Focusing on adding value to the firm and others changed my mindset about letting less experienced lawyers work on projects. Instead of doing everything myself, I can be more selective about the projects I keep and delegate the rest. Not only do I have the benefit of their independent thinking about solving client legal issues, but also, the project is addressed more quickly, and I have the reward of watching them grow and become capable lawyers.
Being indispensable was no longer the goal, but neither was being totally dispensable. Rather, the goal became to be a valuable team member without doing everything myself. In my opinion, achieving this goal has benefitted clients, my firm, my family, and me.
There are times when my insecurities creep in, and I question whether I am viewed by my clients and my firm as being an important team member. When I examine my circumstances with clear eyes, I see that I am. I may not be “indispensable,” but I have ample affirmation that I am valued by clients and co-workers. Each day affirms that letting go of the “indispensable” security blanket was one of the best decisions I have made for my professional and personal life.
As a senior lawyer transitions into a less active role and eventual retirement, there is an obligation to clients to ensure they continue to have competent representation for their legal matters. The transition process requires matching clients with competent lawyers with whom they are comfortable to ensure a smooth transition. The process takes time, and the senior lawyer will continue to be a valuable team member during it. Eventually, the senior lawyer will become dispensable, either by choice or as the practical result of the transition process. It is the natural evolution of the process. It also enables the senior lawyer to pursue the next chapter in life, whatever it may be. Becoming dispensable to clients and the firm at this stage demonstrates what I believe to be a successful transition and a satisfying outcome for which the senior lawyer can take pride.
